(ThyBlackMan.com) This year’s award for state sponsored terrorism goes once again to (drum roll) the United States of America. Since 1945, the US has been the hands down winner of the award.
In 1945, the US won the award for its use of not one but two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Between 150,000 to 240,000 people, the overwhelming majority of which were civilians, were killed.
Currently, the US is one of nine countries with nuclear weapons. The other nations are Russia, China, France, Great Britain, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel. So far, the US has the sole distinction of being the only nation to ever use a nuclear bomb on humans.
Between 1945 and 1949, the US was actively engaged 6,900 miles from its shores in the Chinese Civil War. The goal of Operation Beleaguer, as it was called by the US government, was to prevent Chinese communists from taking control of their country.
The US was unsuccessful in preventing the people of China from determining their own sovereignty. The US was forced to withdraw its troops from China.
Closer to home in 1950, the US government sent its military to the Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico. The US government was successful in putting down an attempt by Puerto Rico nationalists who were seeking to free Puerto Rico from what they considered “colonist imperialism.” The nationalists desired like other people in other nations to determine their destiny without interference. They believed it was a basic right of all people.
The US crushed the Puerto Rican nationalist insurgency movement in 1954. There are some Puerto Ricans who question, especially after they witnessed the US’ response to Hurricane Maria in 2017, among other things, that perhaps the island might have fared better as its own proud and independent nation. It could not have done worse, they maintain.
In 1950, the US government once again found itself engaged in battle. This time only 6,100 miles away in Korea. Similar to its involvement in China, the US government sent US troops to Korea. It told its citizens it was to stop the spread of communism.
When the fighting stopped there were more than one million military deaths. There were an estimated two to three million civilian deaths. Alleged war crimes were committed by both sides. Active military scrimmages basically ended in 1953.
As with China and Puerto Rico, in addition to sending US forces, the US government funded groups inside of Korea to promote its agenda and interest.
Two years later in 1955, the US found itself once again thousands of miles from its shores engaged in another military campaign. This time 8,100 miles away in Vietnam. As before supposedly fighting the bad communists who were going to get into their basket boats and invade the US.
That military campaign lasted until 1974. The number of those who died during the war range from 970,000 to 3 million including 58,281 US soldiers.
While the Vietnam conflict was taking place, US troops were in Lebanon, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Cuba, Congo, Dominican Republic and Bolivia. Not only were troops sent, the US government also funded and trained proxy organizations and groups to do its biddings within those countries.
In the 1980s, the US found itself in Lebanon again and also in Iran, Grenada, Libya and Panama.
In 1990 and 1991, the US was in Iraq. It would return to Iraq again, in 2003.
From 1992 – 1995, the US was engaged in combat in Somalia. During the same time, the US was engaged in a military campaign in Bosnia and Croatia. In 1994 -1995, the US was involved in Haiti also during the same period the US was engaged in military operations in Serbia.
In the 2000s the US was actively involved in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its military campaign in Afghanistan would turn out to be its longest ongoing military campaign.
It was undertaken to defeat and destroy Al-Qaeda a pan-Islamist militant organization which the US blamed responsible for the worst terrorist attack inside the US on September 11, 2001. The organization during an earlier period received training and funding from the US government during a proxy war in Afghanistan with the then Soviet Union.
Its military campaign in Iraq was to prevent Iraq from using its weapons of mass destruction against other nations. Over twenty years later, the hunt is still on to find those weapons of mass destruction.
With the exception of the US’ campaigns in Bosnia and Croatia, its military campaigns took place in countries in which the majority of the nation’s population were people of color. It would be easy to say that the US seems to have had a problem with people of color.
It might look that way looking at its history as compared to looking at some alternative universe. However, we know that America cannot be racist because its people are not racist.
What is clearly certain, however, is that the US since 1945 has more often than not been on the wrong side of history. It did not support independence freedom movements in third world countries. It actively opposed them.
Ironically, the US proclaimed to its people and the world that Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Cuba and other nations were sponsors of state sponsored terrorism.
However, viewing US history since 1945 it is easy to see where people throughout the world may view the US as the chief sponsor of state sponsored terrorism throughout the world. “The Great Satan.”
Donald Trump during his campaign stated often that the US needed to focus on itself and not be involved in what he called “endless war.” Many of his supporters were attracted to that message.
Unfortunately, within the first five months of his regime, the US not only gave the greenlight to Israel to attack Iran, but Trump also sent US military personnel to bomb Iran. Maybe it was a one and done. Though he did say he would bomb again.
He also suggested he would use all methods at his disposal to make Greenland a part of the US. He was probably just playing with the media knowing how they would make a big deal about it.
Nevertheless, Trump said no more wars. I think we know we can take him at his word.
In Alice and Wonderland, Humpty Dumpty while speaking to Alice said, ‘When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’
To which Alice responded ’The question is whether you can make words mean so many different things.’
’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.”
The question is, is there any nation who has sponsored more state sponsored terrorism than the US?
Staff Writer; Al Alatunji
